HELP US VOICE FOR THE CAUSE OF THE HIMALAYAN REGION AND BEYOND !

Follow by Email

February 22, 2011

* The court trials have, over the years, become a litmus test for the 130 million-strong Muslim minority's faith in secular India's judiciary.

* The verdict was delivered inside the jail by Judge P.R. Patel who charged the men with murder and criminal conspiracy in the plot to kill the Hindu activists. The judge acquitted 63 others accused in the case. Sentences are scheduled to be announced Friday.

* The burning of the train triggered reprisal riots in the following days that left more than 1,000 Muslims dead in Gujarat. The verdict on Tuesday is the first among nine court cases examining those accused in the violence.

By Rama Lakshmi

Rapid action Force (RAF) soldiers patrol the streets in Ahmadabad, India on Monday.
A special court in the state of Gujarat found 31 Muslims guilty in the 2002's deadly
Godhra train fire, which was followed by a backlash by Hindu mobs
against Muslims. (Ajit Solanki - AP)

NEW DELHI - An Indian court in the western state of Gujarat has found 31 Muslims guilty of setting fire to a train coachnine years ago, killing 59 Hindu passengers in an incident that sparked some of the worst religious violence inIndiain recent years.

The verdict was delivered inside the jail by Judge P.R. Patel who charged the men with murder and criminal conspiracy in the plot to kill the Hindu activists. The judge acquitted 63 others accused in the case. Sentences are scheduled to be announced Friday.

The defendants bought gas, cut into the vestibule to pour it inside and torched the train, said J.M. Panchal, the public prosecutor in the case.

The Sabarmati Express train was carrying Hindu activists on their way to build a temple at a disputed site. Police had accused the Muslim mob of executing a well conceived plan in the town of Godhra on Feb. 27, 2002.

However, human rights activists and lawyers defending the accused have argued that it was an accident and not an act of sabotage.

The court on Tuesday upheld the conspiracy argument, but acquitted 70-year-old Maulana Hussain Umarji, who was accused as a key conspirator.

"We are not satisfied with this judgement. There are so many contradictions. We will appeal in higher courts," said I.M. Munshi, the defense lawyer.

The burning of the train triggered reprisal riots in the following days that left more than 1,000 Muslims dead in Gujarat. The verdict on Tuesday is the first among nine court cases examining those accused in the violence.

The court trials have, over the years, become a litmus test for the 130 million-strong Muslim minority's faith in secular India's judiciary.

Saeed Umarji welcomed the acquittal of his father, Maulana Hussain Umarji, but said that the case has brought untold misery upon his family.

"My father has suffered all these years from various ailments inside the jail, and has been dangling between life and death. Our family has gone through so much pain and stigma," Saeed Umarji said by telephone. "But the court case is about a larger issue too. Do poor, honest, hard-working Muslims have the space to live with dignity in Indian society today?"

Ninety-four people were on trial in the case. Of those, 80 were in prison, and the rest were out on bail.The high-profile trialexamined more than 253 witnesses in the last 15 months.

[When Pun said that the Maoists will promulgate the constitution from Baneshwor, where the Constituent Assembly is based, many participants said they do not want such a constitution. Blaming the Maoists for trying to foment ethnic violence by proposing states based on ethnicity, the participants suggested the Maoist lawmakers to be responsible.]

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

Itahari, Nepal

ITAHARI: Locals of Itahari today took Constituent Assembly members to task for their failure to draft the constitution. Speaking at a MIREST Nepal-organised programme in Itahari, they demanded that the lawmakers repay the salaries and allowances they had drawn so far to pay for their failure to deliver the statute.

At the programme, GB Lugun (86) said: “I am an old man living for the new constitution. But we cannot bank on the leaders and the lawmakers, who are after posts and allowances.”

In response to the locals’ collective ire against the CA members, lawmakers Dharmanath Niroula and Sita Gurung, YCL chairman Ganesh Man Pun and Tharu Kalyankari Sabha chairman Chandra Kumar Tharu suddenly lowered their heads. The local people also quizzed Niroula and Pun about the political crisis that has deepened further after the seven-point deal. Even the programme host Swagat Nepal found it really hard

to pacify the people. Responding to a query, lawmaker Niroula said he is in no position to return the allowance because of his poor financial status.

“Lawmakers cannot work without allowance. You can select those who do not take allowances.” Lawmaker Gurung supported Niroula, while Pun said people were right.

When Pun said that the Maoists will promulgate the constitution from Baneshwor, where the Constituent Assembly is based, many participants said they do not want such a constitution. Blaming the Maoists for trying to foment ethnic violence by proposing states based on ethnicity, the participants suggested the Maoist lawmakers to be responsible.

The participants also demanded that the lawmakers resign in the event of failure to draft the constitution within the May 28 deadline.

[The meeting also expressed solidarity on the peaceful democratic movements in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. It also urged the government to make necessary arrangements to rescue Nepali workers from Tripoli and other conflict hit cities of Libya.]

KATHMANDU: The CPN-UML on Tuesday endorsed the seven-point agreement forged by its Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and his UCPN-Maoist counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal on the eve of prime ministerial elections earlier this month without any modification.

The pact has been forged for the peace and constitution drafting processes. However, further discussions are to be organised to clear the disputed issues on the pact with Maoists, reads the statement.

Secretary Gyawali said that the meeting urged other parties including the Nepali Congress to join the current government to accomplish the peace and statute drafting processes without any suspicions over the seven point pact.

The meeting relieved the party’s politburo member Rabindra Shrestha of all his responsibilities in the party for two years owing to his extra marital affair.

The meeting also expressed solidarity on the peaceful democratic movements in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. It also urged the government to make necessary arrangements to rescue Nepali workers from Tripoli and other conflict hit cities of Libya.

The meeting of the party’s CC held at the party central office in Balkhu decided to endorse the seven point agreement without any change—with an understanding that the party would consult the Maoists to resolve the controversial issues.

The party's politburo meeting held yesterday had furthered the proposal to the CC.

The pact that Khanal and Dahal made, which helped the former be elected the country's top executive, drew flak from the UML leaders for ignoring the party line.

Khanal's efforts to extend the cabinet and form a fully functional government have been thwarted due to the differences within his party over the agreement and with the Maoists regarding the sharing of key ministries. The Maoists have been demanding the Home Ministry, while influential leaders in the UML have been negating the idea.

The Maoist party had opposed the UML intent to redefine the agreement, arguing that it was forged for the peace and constitution and that the UML cannot renege on it.